Jim Carrey‘s career is in an interesting place, with the former leading man beginning to find success as part of ensemble casts. As examples, he was highlighted as a strong point in The Incredible Burt Wonderstone, and looks like the most promising aspect of Kick-Ass 2.

Now a project that has languished for a while is coming back to life thanks in part no doubt to Carrey’s interest in the film, and the public’s resurged interest in the actor. Steve Oedekerk, who directed Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, and wrote Bruce Almighty, will direct Carrey as part of an ensemble cast in Ricky Stanicky. The comedy follows a group of friends who create a fake friend to take the blame for their misdeeds, and then have to find someone to play the scapegoat in real life when their spouses insist on inviting Ricky to a party so they can meet him in the flesh.

Who is going to direct the Steve Oedekerk-scripted big screen adaptation of Stretch Armstrong? And why should you care? Originally there were rumors that Academy Award-winning director Ron Howard (A Beautiful Mind, Frost/Nixon) would helm the toy adaptation. Then Twilight sensation Taylor Lautnerjoined the cast, skipping out on Max Steel.

And last month it was reported that Monsters vs. Aliens co-director Rob Letterman may helm the picture. And today HeatVision confirms this earlier report. Letterman just finished Gulliver’s Travels with Jack Black, and has brought Forgetting Sarah Marshall/Get Him to the Greek writer/director Nicolas Stoller on board to re-write the script.

Yeah, you read that headline correctly. Somehow it makes sense that the kid who was in one of the early unnecessary entries of the current wave of 3D movies, The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lava Girl 3D, will now topline one of the latest unnecessary entries in the current wave of 3D movies. But while Taylor Lautner starring in a 3D Stretch Armstrong film may make a vaguely weird sort of sense from that slim perspective, we don’t have to like it. Read More »

A couple weeks ago we told you that Academy Award winning producer Brian Grazer (A Beautiful Mind, American Gangster) had signed on to produce the Steve Oedekerk-scripted big screen adaptation of Stretch Armstrong. The film is part of Universal’s multi-picture development deal with Hasbro to turn board games and toys into a series of possibly horrible probably pointless movies. For Stretch Armstrong, they even have a release date – April 15, 2011. So who is going to direct? How about Ron Howard?

Back in February, we told you that Steve Oedekerk was developing a big screen adaptation of Stretch Armstrong as part of Universal’s deal with Hasbro to turn board games and toys into a series of possibly horrible probably pointless movies. Well it appears the film is going into production, and even has a release date – April 15, 2011. Ugh.

Academy Award winning producer Brian Grazer (A Beautiful Mind, American Gangster) has come on board to produce the project. Grazer issued the following statement: “Stretch Armstrong is a character I have wanted to see on screen for a long time. He’s an unconventional kind of super hero with a power that no one would want. It’s a story about a guy stretching – if you will – the limits of what is possible to become all that he can be.”Read More »

Universal Pictures has made a series of deals with Hasbro to adapt board games and toys into big screen movies. Last year the studio signed Ridley Scott to develop a movie based on Monopoly, and just last week they announced that Platinum Dunes was developing a movie based around the Ouija board and Etan Cohen was writing a screenplay for Candyland with Enchanted director Kevin Lima to direct. Variety reports that the studio has signed Steve Oedekerk to write a big screen adaptation of Stretch Armstrong.